Special Education for Beginners | Managing Paraprofessionals, Special Education Strategies, First Year Sped Teachers, Special Ed Overwhelm, Paperwork for Special Education Teachers

Ask Us Anything Part 12: A Rapid-Fire Farewell with Paul

• Episode 191

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Welcome back to Special Education for Beginners! Today’s episode is a special one as we close out our beloved "Ask Us Anything" series with my incredible co-host, Paul. After two amazing years of working together, including 11 months of answering your burning questions about special education, Paul and I are wrapping up this chapter of the podcast.

We’ve tackled everything from scheduling nightmares and behavior strategies to managing paraprofessionals and navigating IEPs. Through it all, we’ve shared laughs, tears, and plenty of honest, real-life insights into the world of special education.

This series has been such an important part of the podcast, but as Paul transitions out of the field of special education, it’s time to say goodbye to this segment. I’m so grateful for everything Paul has brought to the show—his humor, wisdom, and unique perspective will be deeply missed.

But we couldn’t let our final episode together be all tears and goodbyes. Instead, we’re sending the series off with a bang! This episode features a rapid-fire Q&A session where Paul and I ask each other quick, easily answerable questions. We’ve mixed in thoughtful topics, funny moments, and a few lighthearted surprises.

Here’s a sneak peek at what we cover:

  • The funniest thing a student has ever brought into the classroom
  • Our least favorite professional development buzzwords.
  • If our teaching styles were foods, what would they be?
  • What we’d rename the role of paraprofessional—if we would at all.
  • Our dream superpowers for the classroom.
  • And so much more!

We wanted this final "Ask Us Anything" to feel like a celebration of the journey we’ve been on together and the connections we’ve made with all of you, our listeners. Grab your coffee, settle in, and join us for one last fun-filled conversation with Paul.

Stay Connected: This may be the end of "Ask Us Anything," but the podcast will continue to provide insights, tips, and support for special education teachers. Follow along for upcoming episodes and exciting new content!

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Hey special educator…Do you feel like you're just barely keeping your head above water? Like you're stuck in the same old routines, wondering how to make a bigger impact in your classroom? Well, I’ve got something special just for you. I’m excited to offer a unique opportunity to take your teaching to the next level.  I’m ready to step outside my district to offer individualized coaching calls designed to offer person

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Speaker 1:

Welcome back to Special Education for Beginners. It's the first episode of the month, so that means I have my co-host, paul, here with me, but we do have some news to share. This will be the final episode of our Ask Us Anything series. This has been such a bittersweet moment because we've spent a lot of time together, virtually.

Speaker 1:

Paul was a guest on my show for episode 61, where he shared his story of seeing the field of special education through a different lens than most of us do, because he has some of the same characteristics as some of our students. And then Paul took over the whole show for episode 100 and gave us his picks for his favorite episodes. And then after that, paul became a regular for two whole years. We did a year of the Sped Teacher Small Talk where we just chatted about all things special education. And then we revamped and for the last 11 months Paul and I have been answering your questions about all things special education and through those years we tackled some big topics like scheduling, managing paraprofessionals, behavior, strategies, navigating IEPs. We've shared tips, strategies and stories. We have shared some tears and a lot of laughs as we have discussed the challenges that we all face as special educators.

Speaker 1:

My episodes with Paul have been such a special part of the podcast but, just like everything else, all good things must come to an end. Paul is no longer working in the field of special education and we made the decision to close this chapter of the podcast. So, in honor of our last episode together, we thought we would do something a little different and hopefully you'll find some fun in it. Instead of answering your questions, we have decided to do a rapid fire Q&A session. We are going to ask each other some quick, easily answerable questions, sticking mostly to special education, but throwing in a few lighthearted ones as well. Think of this as a celebration of all the moments we've shared, the growth we've experienced and the connections we've made with you, our listeners, over the years. We want to keep this final Ask Us Anything episode upbeat and engaging, while still reflecting on the journey that we've been on together. So grab your coffee, settle in and let's make this last episode together one to remember.

Speaker 1:

Hey, special educator, are you overwhelmed by the absurd amount of paperwork on your to-do list? Do you wish you had the skills to build a rock-solid team with your staff? Do you find yourself scouring the internet for how to meet the needs of each student on your caseload. Well, hey there, I'm Jennifer Hopperberg, an award-winning veteran special education teacher and current instructional coach, who has walked in your shoes through each of these challenges and, yes, I have the metaphorical blisters to prove it. I have cried your tears and felt your pain and now I'm here to support you in the way I wish someone would have been there to support me.

Speaker 1:

Listen in each week as my guests and I dish out practical wisdom to help you handle all the classroom curveballs that are thrown at you and learn how to laugh in spite of the chaos, to celebrate those small yet significant victories that only a special educator can understand. So are you ready? Wipe your tears and put on your superhero cape, because together we are going to learn how to survive and thrive in the ever crazy, completely overwhelming laugh so you don't cry profession of being a special education teacher. Hey there, paul, are you ready for our last big hoorah?

Speaker 2:

Oh yeah Bittersweet, but I am very excited for some fun, lighthearted rapid power questions.

Speaker 1:

I am very excited for some fun, lighthearted rapid power questions. All right, well before we dive into today's questions, I just want to say thank you for being such an incredible co-host. You have brought humor, insight and honesty to every single episode and I know our listeners have loved learning from you as much as I have.

Speaker 2:

Well, thank you. I really have been honored to be a part of this. It was what I needed. When I found it, I did not know that I would become a one-time guest, into a hijacker, into a monthly guest. It has been an incredible journey and I've learned so much from you and your experience in special ed. And though I have moved out of that field specifically, I still use the same skills every day as I continue to work with kids, and I think that the experience I have and what I've learned as a special ed teacher has made me who I am today and given me the confidence to not only teach but lead in an educational setting.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, it's kind of a field that can cover a lot of different fields, so you learn a lot of different tools that you can use in other aspects of your life. Okay, so we're going to turn the tables on each other for a rapid fire Q&A, and I'll admit I have been looking forward to this one.

Speaker 2:

I'm upset.

Speaker 1:

All right. So what is the weirdest thing a student has ever brought into your classroom?

Speaker 2:

Cool boy. The weirdest thing that I think the weirdest and grossest thing is I had a student bring in their backpack. They set it down by their desk and then, like I don't know how many cockroaches just started filtering out of the bath and going everywhere. It was like there was like 50 of them. It was crazy.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's gross. Well, I had a student bring in. I assume it had been there for a little while and it had just fallen out, but I found a little turd underneath my table after a student had left. So we were down on the floor trying to on our knees, trying to figure out what it was. And yeah, all right, your turn.

Speaker 2:

I don't have the questions pulled up.

Speaker 1:

Oh, you don't have them pulled up. Okay, I'll just ask them all then.

Speaker 2:

Okay.

Speaker 1:

Okay, all right, next one what's your go-to behavior management strategy in a pinch?

Speaker 2:

Always choices, giving choices, being very clear, saying you can do this or this, and then giving them a time limit for making that decision. I will often set my watch and I will say you can pick one minute, three minutes or five minutes, but you need to make one of these two choices when the timer goes off.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's good, Clear and concise. Mine would be the teacher voice. Some people call it a parent voice, teacher voice. I can just turn on that or use that tone and a lot of times my students will just stop what they're doing or comply with what they're supposed to be doing. What is your favorite skill to teach?

Speaker 2:

Mine is very much math. I love math. There's something about all the manipulatives. There's a little something for everybody. Someone can always grasp some aspect of the math and we can find a way to break it down, and that's just my favorite.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I agree, anything math related. I like teaching perimeter and area because I like to teach using stories and I have a really unique story that I use with that that involves my dad and so the kids really relate to that. So that would be mine. What's your least favorite add?

Speaker 2:

And so the kids really relate to that. So that would be mine. What's your least favorite? It's one of my favorite things to do as a hobby, but I really do not like teaching grammar. I actually really like grammar. I really have being someone with dyslexia, with spelling issues all my life. I've really latched onto that in my adulthood. But man, teaching it is in a special ed setting is a challenge.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, definitely Mine is. Mine is writing, which goes along with that grammar. I, I, I love to write, but I hate teaching it. All right, what is your most used phrase during IEP meetings?

Speaker 2:

It depends on the type of parent. If it's a parent that's like, there's those parents that are like almost friends. There's those parents that are like you've never heard of them before. They've just been ghosting you all year. And then there's the parents that you're like have every I dotted and every T crossed. So it depends on which parent I'm with, but typically I like to use the term of collaborate. I always am using the word collaboration Like let's collaborate, let's discuss, let's work together as a team.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, mine is do you have any questions? I feel like every section that I go over, I'm like, do you have any questions about this, do you have any questions about this? And they probably get tired of hearing that, but I just always want to make sure that they're on the same page and that they're understanding.

Speaker 2:

It's better than just rambling on.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, exactly how do you de-stress after a tough day in the classroom tough day in the classroom.

Speaker 2:

Unfortunately, it's eating something, something salty, something fattening pride, unfortunately, that's. That's my go-to.

Speaker 1:

I wish it was something healthier. That's what I get. It is what it is. Mine would be. Just, I guess my commute home, just I have that time to just kind of de-stress. Or else I sit in my car whenever I get home and I don't go in right away. But also I'd love to listen to like 80s rock music and at a very loud volume, and so I think that's just kind of gets me out of my head a little bit. What do you think is the most confusing special education acronym?

Speaker 2:

Um, I I never really acronyms work well for me, so I don't even know if I have a good answer for this one, because acronyms is what I use for everything. Um, one that I feel is often overused is the Darn it I blanked out. Give me a second, I can't think of it. It's just gone.

Speaker 1:

Okay, I'll come back to that one.

Speaker 2:

Okay, sorry about that.

Speaker 1:

It's fine. So if you had to rename the role of paraprofessional, what would you call it?

Speaker 2:

Sidekick Not actually, but I think that'd be cool.

Speaker 1:

I don't think I would rename it, because para the meaning of para is alongside of, and I truly feel that our paras should be thought of in that way working alongside us, and that goes right along with sidekick, having someone right there beside you. That is, you know, doing the same job as you, and you know you're a team. You're not above or below each other. What's the one thing you wish every general education teacher knew about special education?

Speaker 2:

I mean this might sound petty, but I wish they knew just how hard it was. Like they just give them a day in our class and show what it's like, because it takes a very special kind of person and I think that's taken for granted.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, and I think some teachers get it or, you know, maybe at least think that they get it, but there's some that just don't get it at all. So I agree, I wish general ed teachers understood how much we have on our plates and that we're really just trying to do the best we can with the limited resources, the limited amount of time we have with our students, and that we aren't miracle workers. We aren't just able to fix a kid. There's a lot more to it. So what piece of advice would you give to a brand?

Speaker 2:

new special education teacher. This one's interesting because I you know, not being a special education teacher, it feels a little hypocritical because I know how hard it is and I know that like I run an entire building now and it's easier than my day-to-day as a special ed teacher. So I would honestly say really consider and I said this all throughout our talks together realize how hard it is what you're doing, realize that you are doing so much and it is impossible. You're doing the impossible every day. And understand and give yourself great, knowing that.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's a good one. Mine would be to keep an extra set of clothes at school, because it's very practical. You never know when you're going to get puked on, spit on, peed, pooped on. You know it's really an unfortunate possibility of the job, so just keep a pair extra set of clothes there. What is the funniest typo you've ever seen in an IEP?

Speaker 2:

The funniest hypo that I've ever seen. I've ever seen Um. It was one time the I don't know how it happened, uh, but the there was a. The word C? O M, e was spelled C U M. I don't know how it happened, and I saw that I was so embarrassed and I I, I think I had done like text to speech or something I don't know, but some somehow anything up in there and I didn't like text to speech or something I don't know, but somehow it ended up in there and I didn't catch it until the meeting itself.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's bad. Oh, mine's a little bit along the same lines and it wasn't a typo, but it was just a miss said in a meeting and it wasn't me, it was a general teacher, and she said that the child needed to be working on their pubic speaking skills and we all laughed and she turned bright red and then we all just kind of had a difficult time recomposing ourselves to finish the meeting. But it was like you said it was. It was parents who we knew well, and so that made it a little bit easier because they were laughing as well. So if you could instantly solve one challenge in special education, what would it be?

Speaker 2:

That's a good question. Honestly, my first instinct was to say more special ed teachers, like that was my. My first instinct was to say more special ed teachers, like that was my first instinct. But the more you know, the longer I've been in special education.

Speaker 2:

There is just an insurmountable amount of children that need extra help, that I think the way to fix special education is to fix education as a whole, and I think that one of the biggest ways to do that is by making a system that more kids can succeed, finding a new system for education, because then you know, then there's not so much of that gap between special ed and general ed and there's not this disparity because someone doesn't have the right genes or the right DNA or had a traumatic experience or whatever it might be for the child. Growing up with someone with disabilities, it was so taboo to talk about me having disabilities and I didn't want to do it, it and I was afraid to do it. I think that the system needs an overhaul and I think that that's the only way to truly help special education.

Speaker 1:

I would say paper pushing would be mine. Just we don't have enough time to teach when they're with us because we're always so focused on getting IEPs done, getting paperwork done, documenting all the things. I feel like I just want to be in my classroom and when I was in the classroom. I just wish I could have just done more of that and less of the paperwork.

Speaker 2:

We all need secretaries. Yeah, yeah, that's a solution.

Speaker 1:

Personal secretary yeah, if your teaching style were a food, what would it be and why?

Speaker 2:

probably a very, very meaty lasagna. Let me explain. So I really really like layers. There's a very defined layers. I really like infusing every moment with as much content as I can, not wasting time. No busy work. But from an onlooker's perspective it looks a little messy.

Speaker 1:

Oh, very good, that's a very good one. Mine would be a taco bar, where everyone has the main components but all the other things are adaptable and customizable to meet everyone's unique needs and their preferences. Nice, I like that one. What is the most surprising thing you have learned from a student?

Speaker 2:

I'm going to cry. I'm not supposed to cry, it's rapid fire. But the first thing that came to mind was one of my students had a disease that is slowly making her lose the ability to do anything, and the bravery and the facing that and the still enjoying the aspects of life that she can control and contribute to stuck with me, and that was from my first year teaching.

Speaker 1:

That's a good one. Mine is very similar. It's resilience. I had a student who had spina bifida and he was in a wheelchair and he had multiple surgeries and he never let anything get him down. You know, he was he's like I'm in a wheelchair, you know it is what it is, and he would just go, go, go. And so I did learn resilience from him. What is one piece of advice you would give yourself at the start of your career?

Speaker 2:

One advice Come is spelled C-O-m-e. No, we'll call back there. Um, no, I would say probably, man, that is. That is a tough question to reflecting on. I really love the way it ended up, and I don't know if it ended up the same way if I hadn't figured it out as I went along.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, mine would be don't try to do everything yourself. Lean on a team, collaborate, like the word you used earlier, and remember it's okay to ask for help, can't do it all yourself. If you had to teach using only one color of pen, which color would you choose, and why?

Speaker 2:

green? Um, it's, it's a very like very, not very much, not red, which has negative connotations, and green means go. It's like forward momentum. It does show up on paper, unlike yellow, so that it's visible and yeah, I guess that's it, just just it's. It's visible, it's positive and it's, you know, a cool color. It's something you know. Black is boring, everyone uses black, red is negative, green is just to me that's positive.

Speaker 1:

Maybe that's just my experience, but I would choose to write in black, but I always write in blue, just so I can easily detect it on a original document versus a copy. So I usually go for blue. What is the one thing you would never have in your classroom?

Speaker 2:

Word searching.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I did. Word searching oh I did. I learned that in a like in a conference one time when they said word searches and what it does to to the brain of a child who has dyslexia. That's interesting. Mine would be glitter. I hate glitter. It creeps me out, it's it's. You can never completely get rid of it. I hate it.

Speaker 2:

What is?

Speaker 2:

your favorite part of writing an IEP man, I think my favorite part is it depended on the kid. My favorite part of writing an IEP was an annual review after I'd worked with the kid for a good chunk of the year and I was able to just show how much data that supported that they were making massive strides and being able to share that with parents and the excitement that I had in being able to do that, being able to like. I had often times where I got to tell the parents that they jumped to grade levels from their previous IEP because something clicked for them or something got through and they were able to understand for the first time and really start to make leaps and bounds. And I love data. So I think that's my favorite part is collecting and presenting data, because that data to me, has weight behind it. Everything else is you know, can be you know flowery words, all that stuff, but data, if presented well, speaks volumes. It's very weighty yeah, I agree.

Speaker 1:

My favorite part would be ensuring that I make those connections from one section to another to another, so like from the present levels to the goals and then from the goals to the accommodations and then accommodations to the services. I I like to kind of like the strings on a detective's board where you're connecting each piece of IEP to another. It's not just all you know willy nilly. So if you could create a new holiday for special educators, what would you create?

Speaker 2:

I don't think I can say the name of it on this podcast. No, think I can say the name of it on this podcast. Uh, no, um, it starts with uh f and ends in it day, just a day where we're just like effort. We're not doing nothing. We're doing. You know they're watching a movie, we're going. You know we're going to vegas or something I don't know yeah, mine would be switcheroo day.

Speaker 1:

I I think that I would like for gen ed teachers, administrators, even district staff, to switch places with special educators for a full entire day, maybe even a week. I just want everyone to have the opportunity to fully appreciate everything that special educators do.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, that's a very practical answer that does like would showcase to people. That's a good, better answer than mine, bravo.

Speaker 1:

Sometimes you just need to say, yeah, we're doing this.

Speaker 2:

Yeah.

Speaker 1:

What is the professional development buzzword that you are sick and tired of hearing?

Speaker 2:

Um, professional development buzzword that you are sick and tired of hearing. It's not a buzzword, but the first thing that comes to mind is the admin you know, tell me or remember your why. And it's just like, at this point it's lost all meaning. It's like, yes, at the beginning maybe, but especially hearing it come from an admin's mouth, just it does the exact opposite.

Speaker 1:

It rubs you the wrong way. It does basics effectively before being pushed to add rigor to every lesson In special education. I feel like building those foundational skills and meeting students where they are is already enough of a challenge, so I wish we could just focus on meaningful, accessible learning rather than piling on unnecessary complexity. If you could have one superpower in the classroom, what would it be?

Speaker 2:

Hmm, to freeze time but be able to work on my IEP. So freeze time, but on the computer. That way I could assess data and enter it in within the same period of time, instead of having to try to write it down in sticky notes and upload it later or whatever. Just being able to stop time, get everything done. Getting an IEP printed before the meeting, because the printer always seems to stop working when you're printing it out, when you're running late for a meeting mine would be to have x-ray vision so I could see inside of my students' brains Sometimes, especially my little autistic kids.

Speaker 1:

I just want to get in there and see exactly how it works and what they're thinking, and I've always said that I wish I could just be inside their brain for a day.

Speaker 2:

Well, I have that luxury you do. I get to be inside the brains of some of the students that I have.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, what's the most ridiculous myth about special education that you've ever heard?

Speaker 2:

The most ridiculous myth I've ever heard. Probably you answer first.

Speaker 1:

I can't think of anything else on my head I think mine would be to that they always assume that special education teachers have so much patience. I've heard that so many many I mean hundreds of times throughout my career. Oh, you must have so much patience to work with that population of kids. And no, I I really don't. You know I'm kind of a stickler on things. I don't have a lot of patience, but I have empathy for my kids and I know what they've been through and the struggles that they have. So I guess I probably turn that into patience.

Speaker 2:

Believe is that it is totally fine to throw in a normal sub into a special ed classroom. It never goes well.

Speaker 1:

No, no, never. Yeah, they need some type of experience in that field. They need to know what they're getting themselves into and not just stick any random person in there. I agree, definitely All right. Did you remember your acronym? Do you want me to go back to that one? Remember your acronym?

Speaker 2:

Do you want me to go back to that one? It's the term used for on the tip of my tongue. I've been trying to rack my brain this entire time.

Speaker 1:

It starts with an R.

Speaker 2:

RTI, rti, yeah, okay.

Speaker 1:

All right, and then last question what do you think is the most confusing?

Speaker 2:

special education acronym and though it's, it does like the process itself has value. Admin, just use RTI like it's a extra period, like a support period or like a home room yeah, I can see that mine would be LRE least restrictive environment.

Speaker 1:

Many people think that the LRE is automatically the general education setting for every child, but for some students that is not their least restrictive environment and so it has to be based on the individual and I think that can get confusing sometimes.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I agree.

Speaker 1:

All right, Paul, that's a wrap. That's all the questions I have for you.

Speaker 2:

Oh, it's been fun. Jennifer Really enjoyed it.

Speaker 1:

Well. Again, thank you so much for being a willing participant in my podcast journey. I wish nothing but the best for you and wherever your life leads you, and I'm lucky to consider you a friend, and I'm sure that we'll be in touch at some point in the future.

Speaker 2:

Definitely. Let's stay in touch, for sure.

Speaker 1:

All right, talk to you later.

Speaker 2:

Bye-bye.